Fire at Gaisano mall of Gensan out after 18 hours

Firefighters continue on Thursday to extinguish the fire that hit The Gaisano Mall of GenSan on Wednesday evening following the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck a large part of Mindanao. BONG SARMIENTO

GENERAL SANTOS CITY –– The fire that razed Gaisano Mall of Gensan here has finally been declared out at 1 p.m. Thursday, 18 hours after the blaze started Wednesday evening following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that jolted a large part of Mindanao.

Mayor Ronnel Rivera thanked the firefighters for risking their lives to contain the fire.

Rivera said the city government would extend assistance to the affected mall employees.

“The earthquake is a reminder that we still have a lot of things to do to improve disaster preparedness and resilience against natural and man-made calamities,” he said.

He urged business establishments to improve or update their building plans to ensure structural integrity and stability./lzb